http://www.telegraph.co.uk
A host of British business leaders, including Sir
Richard Branson, the
creator of the Virgin brand, and Martin Sorrell, the
chief executive of WPP,
yesterday met Morgan Tsvangirai, the prime minister
of Zimbabwe, to explore
the possibility of private investment into the
troubled country.
By Rupert Neate
Published: 9:22PM BST 20 Jun
2009
Mr Tsvangirai told the meeting, chaired by David Miliband, the
Foreign
Secretary, that Zimbabwe has made substantial progress towards
rebuilding
the economy and is actively seeking investment from multinational
companies.
"Over the last few decades Zimbabwe has radically changed, but
the people,
natural resources and some of the basic infrastructure are still
in place
and ready to be invested in once again," Mr Tsvangirai said. "We
have a real
chance to turn Zimbabwe into a success story in partnership with
the
international community".
Mr Tsvangirai said the country has
brought inflation down from 500bn pc to
just 3pc in the four months since he
formed a coalition government with
Robert Mugabe.
Sir Richard said:
"Zimbabwe is at a critical turning point and needs the
support of the global
community. This isn't just a job for aid
organisations, and governments.
There is a lot business can do to help bring
humanitarian support and
inspire investment."
Other business leaders at the meeting included James
Hussey, of De La Rue,
Ian Farmer, of Lonmin, and Dr Nicholas Blazquez, of
Diageo.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com
By: ANGUS SHAW
Associated Press
06/20/09 6:40 PM
EDT
HARARE, ZIMBABWE - Conservationists raised the alarm Thursday for
Zimbabwe's
rare rhinos after a sharp increase in poaching because of a
breakdown of law
enforcement in this troubled southern African
country.
Organized criminal gangs kill rhinos to sell the valuable horn
that is used
as a traditional medicine in Asia and carved for ceremonial
dagger handles
in the Middle East, Raoul du Toit, head of southern
Zimbabwe's Lowveld Rhino
Trust, said in a telephone conference call with
reporters.
Zimbabwe's rhino population declined from about 830 in 2007 to
740 at the
end of 2008 despite an excellent birth rate in monitored herds,
London-based
Save the Rhino executive director Cathy Dean said during the
conference
call.
Save the Rhino said at least 90 rhino were poached
in 2008, twice the toll
of the previous year, and conservation groups had
counted 18 killed so far
in 2009. It called for concerted action by the
Zimbabwean government and
international agencies.
Conservationists
also reported a surge in poaching of zebra for their hides.
These, alongside
illegal diamonds, gold and other contraband, were smuggled
through
Zimbabwe's porous borders.
Some zebra hides ended up as upholstery in
Europe and the zebra poachers
were likely to encounter rhino in the same
habitat and know their value, du
Toit said.
Du Toit said the rhino
poachers were people with "cars, cell phones and
expensive lawyers" and not
villagers desperate for food.
Poaching "increased because of our lack of
ability to investigate, higher
market prices and the growing Asian footprint
in southern Africa," he said.
Du Toit spoke of investigators lacking
gasoline to drive suspects to court.
He said authorities were short of money
but paid too little attention to the
crimes.
"The repercussions for
the country's international image and the economic
implications are a lot
more serious than the politicians and the ministers
realize," he
said.
He said conservation groups in southern Zimbabwe planned to
relocate about
60 rhino from areas vulnerable to poachers.
Tourism
and photographic safaris have dropped sharply in several years of
political
and economic turmoil since the often violent seizures of thousands
of
white-owned farms began in 2000, disrupting the agriculture-based economy
in
the former regional breadbasket.
Longtime ruler President Robert Mugabe
blames Western sanctions for the
economic crisis that has led to acute
shortages of food, gasoline and the
most basic goods.
Poaching of
small animals has intensified, with villagers torching the bush
to drive
even rodents and rock rabbits into traps for food, conservationists
say.
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 20 June 2009 21:47
MPs are demanding US$30 000 car loans from government, it emerged
yesterday.
The demands by the MPs came shortly after they
declined a car scheme
negotiated by Finance Minister Tendai
Biti.
Under the scheme, MPs who have been clamouring for vehicles,
would
have received Mazda BT-50s from Willowvale Mazda Motor
Industries.
Biti negotiated the deal after stopping the MPs from
getting second
hand cars that were offered by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.
Despite public
outcry, the MPs refused to surrender the vehicles arguing
that ministers had
benefited from vehicles bought by the RBZ.
Sources said after spurning Biti's offer, the MPs had demanded cash
so they
could buy vehicles of their choice.
Sources said yesterday the
Finance Ministry was left with no other
option but to accede to the demands
by the MPs for cash after they
complained that the BT-50s were not durable
for rural roads.
The MPs also argued that since they were
receiving the cars under a
loan scheme, they had to choose the cars
themselves.
According to the sources, the Ministry of Finance
has agreed to give
the MPs money to purchase vehicles. If it does that, it
would have to
release almost US$6 million to meet the MPs
demands.
"The government has agreed to provide $30 000 per MP
although some MPs
would have wanted more," said a parliamentarian who
preferred anonymity.
"There are some who require robust cars
like Land Rovers and Land
Cruisers for rough terrain but the position is
that they will have to top up
from own resources.
"This is
a good arrangement for some of us who have always refused to
take cars under
the Gono scheme because we have always felt that for us not
to be
compromised, we should be provided for under the fiscus."
No
official confirmation of the new arrangement could be obtained
yesterday.
Zanu PF chief whip Joram Gumbo's phone was unreachable. His
counterpart in
the MDC-T, Innocent Gonese referred all questions to the
finance
ministry.
"I cannot confirm that," Gonese said. "Talk to the
finance ministry.
They are the ones who give the money."
Acting Minister of Finance Francis Nhema said he was not aware of the
new
development.
"I am only acting and I am not aware of anything
like that," Nhema
said. "I never communicated anything like that to any MP
and no one ever
told me of it either."
RBZ Governor Gideon
Gono two months ago sparked a political storm when
he issued vehicles to MPs
saying they needed them for their work. The
gesture torched controversy and
brought to the public spotlight the widening
rift between Gono and
Biti.
MPs from across the political divide - including some MDC
legislators
who were vocal in accusing Gono of quasi-fiscal activities -
eagerly
accepted the vehicles. Biti, however, pressured them to return the
cars,
arguing that providing for MPs was not Gono's business. He got the
backing
of his superiors in the MDC-T, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and
his
deputy Thokozani Khupe.
BY JENNIFER DUBE
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 20 June 2009
21:36
EIGHTEEN Zimbabweans behind last year's gruesome election
violence
face arrest in South Africa.
Their names have been
submitted to the National Prosecuting Authority
(NPA) for arrest when they
next visit that country.
The docket submitted to the NPA focuses on
and documents numerous
instances of torture which were perpetrated in a
systematic fashion against
elements of the civilian
population.
The docket and evidence regarding international
crimes committed was
presented to the NPA by the Southern Africa Litigation
Centre (SALC) on
behalf of the numerous victims of these international
crimes in Zimbabwe.
The evidance establishes the commission of crimes
against humanity by
Zimbabwean officials.
The intervention
by SALC is in respect of a proposed domestic
prosecution before a South
African court.
Under the ICC (International Criminal Court) Act the
NPA may commence
proceedings and issue warrants of arrest prior to the
presence of the
accused in South African territory.
The
evidence gathered by SALC shows that Zimbabwean officials are
guilty of the
crime against humanity of torture. It also shows that the
officials in
question from time to time visit South Africa. South Africa has
a duty under
international law and under the Implementation of the Rome
Statute of the
International Criminal Court Act, No 27 of 2002 (the ICC Act)
to apprehend
and prosecute the drivers of the 2008 violence.
The NPA's
function under the ICC Act is to discharge that duty on
behalf of the state.
As a result it has been asked to institute an
investigation and prosecution
in South Africa of Zimbabwean officials guilty
of the crime against humanity
of torture, committed in Zimbabwe.
The ICC Act is limited to
providing South African courts with
potential jurisdiction in respect of
crimes committed after 1 July 2002, the
date on which the Rome Statute of
the International Criminal Court 1998 (the
Rome Statute) became
operative.
Focus has been to hold Zimbabwean officials
accountable in South
Africa under the ICC Act for the alleged human rights
abuses perpetrated by
or under them.
At the end of her
first visit to Zimbabwe Amnesty International
Secretary General Irene Khan
said that there does not appear to be "any real
urgency to bring about human
rights changes on the part of some government
leaders".
Khan said contrary to the Global Political Agreement's pledge to bring
perpetrators of political violence to justice some ministers she met during
the six days of her fact-finding mission confirmed that "addressing impunity
is not a priority for government right now".
But an MDC-T
lawyer in government said there were more violence
perpetrators than the 18
on the docket now with the NPA.
"There are a lot of them -
hundreds of them," the lawyer said, "who
should be answerable."
The
Ministry of Justice is unaware of the docket in South Africa, with
the
lawyer adding: "They (NPA) wouldn't preannounce an intention to arrest
them."
Despite an undertaking by the NPA spokesperson to
The Standard to
release the names of the 18 Zimbabweans, this has been
followed by deafening
silence.
But some of the perpetrators
are from the police Law and Order
Section.
The evidence
contained in the docket lists the Zimbabweans implicated
in acts of torture
on a systematised and/or widespread basis.
Crimes against
humanity are prohibited under Article 7 of the Rome
Statute of the
International Criminal Court and now prohibited in South
African law by the
ICC Act in precisely the same terms as the Rome Statute.
Documents seen by The Standard say: "The perpetrators inflicted severe
physical or mental pain or suffering upon one or more persons. Such person
or persons were in the custody or under the control of the perpetrator.The
conduct was committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed
against a civilian population. The perpetrator knew that the conduct was
part of or intended the conduct to be part of a widespread or systematic
attack directed against a civilian population."
The
documents show that the acts of torture committed by the Law and
Order
Section officials amount to "crimes against humanity", under
international
law because the criminal acts have been committed as part of a
widespread or
systematic attack against the civilian population.
The
requirement that the attack has a widespread or systematic nature
does not
mean that a crime against humanity cannot be perpetrated by an
individual
who commits only one or two of the designated acts of torture, or
who
engages in only one such offence against only one or a few
civilians.
Documents seen by The Standard indicate that there
is prima facie
evidence that torture as a crime against humanity was
committed and named
perpetrators in the Law and Order Section. "The torture
is of a widespread
or systematic nature, and appears to have been committed
primarily against
political opponents and those suspected of being opposed
to the ruling
regime.
"We submit that the acts of torture
have been committed pursuant to a
policy conceived by and propagated through
the Zanu PF, and aimed at
opposition party members or persons who are
suspected of being opposed to
the ruling regime.
The abuses
are catalogued in the dossier and indicate that the acts of
torture
committed by the named perpetrators are part of an orchestrated
attempt by
the government that gave way to the inclusive government to clamp
down on
and punish dissidents and opposition members.
"A policeman that
tortures his victim is responsible for violating a
norm of international
criminal law. However responsibility does not end
there. As is often the
case with international crimes, the crimes that are
carried out by
lower-level state officials potentially implicate superior
officers."
A legal opinion says that in considering the
potential prosecution of
the named perpetrators under the ICC Act for any
international crimes
committed in Zimbabwe after July 1, 2002, the NPA must
focus on the doctrine
of command responsibility in international criminal
law.
In terms of the customary international law principle of
command
responsibility drawn from military law: "as long as a superior has
effective
control over subordinates, to the extent that he can prevent them
from
committing crimes or punish them after they committed the crimes, he
would
be held responsible for the commission of the crimes if he failed to
exercise such abilities of control".
The Rome Statute
expresses this principle in similar terms by holding
that liability for
punishment still arises even if the offender only
"orders, solicits, or
induces the commission of the crime".
The Law and Order Section
either ordered (explicitly or implicitly) or
failed to prevent the
commission of torture and might still be held
responsible for such
crimes.
The Rome Statute was adopted on 17 July 1998. The
treaty came into
force in 2002 and allows the International Criminal Court
jurisdiction over
crimes committed after 1 July 2002. South Africa is a
party to the Statute
and has been a vocal endorser of the International
Criminal Court. This is
one reason why the Sudanese leader could not attend
President Jacob Zuma's
inauguration on May 9.
South Africa
incorporated the Rome Statute into its domestic law by
means of the ICC
Act.
In other words, the ICC Act allows for the prosecution of
crimes
against humanity, genocide and war crimes before a South African
Court.
The issuing of an arrest warrant in such circumstances
by the NPA in
relation to Zimbabwean suspects of torture is seen an
important step by
South Africa in showing its commitment to the principles
of international
criminal law mandated by the ICC Act which gives effect to
South Africa's
obligations under the Rome Statute.
The Act
is a means by which universal jurisdiction might effectively,
practically
and realistically be exercised over Zimbabwean officials
suspected of
committing the worst international crimes.
BY DAVISON
MARUZIVA
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 20 June
2009 21:27
THE raid on the home of the Minister of Integration and
International
Co-operation Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga was politically
motivated, a
family spokesperson said yesterday.
Zacharias
Mushonga, a brother who is nursing Dr Christopher Mushonga
at his home in
Glenara Avenue, said yesterday the assailants openly told
their victims they
were "Zanu PF activists out to fix the MDC members".
Zacharias said
a cousin who witnessed the raid told him the intruders
made it clear their
raid was political.
"He told me that the robbers said: 'muri
vemachinjaka imi isu tiriZanu
tatumwa kuzokugadzirisai, (You are from the
MDC we are Zanu PF and we have
been sent to beat you up)."
The robbers who pounced on the Mushonga family on Friday disarmed the
police
guard and severely assaulted the minister's husband and got away with
the
minister's official Toyota Prado, seven cellphones and US$156 in
cash.
They even had time to open the freezer and help
themselves to some
beers. They also smoked cigars during their
raid.
Zacharias said that the minister's husband was in a
stable condition
despite the head injuries he sustained during the brutal
attack.
"My brother couldn't even fight for himself because he
is very weak
because of his age. He is very frail."
Dr Mushonga
told The Standard yesterday: "I am feeling better but
cannot remember what
happened. When I was beaten I just blacked out."
Zacharias
said: "You cannot run away from the fact that this might be
politically
motivated. These guys left laptops, televisions and all the
household goods.
Now what do you say to that?"
He added the Toyota Prado was
recovered in Waterfalls intact.
"They did not take anything.
They just dumped the car in Waterfalls
and police have notified me that it
is being kept at Southerton Police
Station. This is really fishy in my
view."
However police spokesperson superintendent Andrew Phiri
could not
confirm that the vehicle had been recovered and was still
verifying this by
time of going to the press.
Renson
Gasela, the MDC's deputy spokesperson said: "I am not aware of
what really
happened because I am in Gweru but this was a terrible act on
the old
man.
"We cannot rule out foul play but we obviously await the
police's
report which will lay bare the circumstances that led to
this."
Minister Mushonga is presently out of the country on
government
business.
BY JOHN MOKWETSI
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 20 June 2009 21:21
I
have heard about "tokoloshes" as creatures that bring fortunes or
misfortunes to families. In all those discussions I have ended up even more
sceptical.
That is why most people crave for an encounter with
the malevolent
mythical human-like creatures.
Last weekend I went
to my village in Mazvihwa in Zvishavane district
in the Midlands. I wanted
to reconnect with my roots.
On arrival on Friday evening I was
greeted with news of the arrival of
a "prophet" in the village who had come
to conduct a cleansing ceremony.
They said it was an awesome spectacle. I
was not sure that I was prepared
for this sort of thing.
I
decided to walk the 5km journey to a mountainous range on Saturday
morning
where "Prophet" Jeremiah was conducting the cleansing ceremony.
My cousin Peter helped me negotiate the maze of footpaths to the
rendezvous.
We met scores of other people on the way - from
youths walking
energetically to those whose pace was usurped by
age.
"I am going to get my problem solved, my son," a frail old
man told me
expectantly. I walked past many people who carried their food
and water.
This was obviously going to be a lengthy
process.
We arrived just in time. Peter is a very resourceful
young man. He
negotiated so I could capture the cleansing ceremony on my
digital camera.
A short stout youth in a white bib with stars
came back to announce:
"You are most welcome to get into the ring and do
your business."
About a thousand people formed a crescent. In
the middle were five
people who had brought their "bags". They were lining
up to be cleansed of
their calamities.
The "prophet" poured
some white powder into water that was in a bucket
and then conducted a
prayer.
Jeremiah then asked the individuals to stand by their bags.
We waited
with bated breath for Jeremiah was asking the owners to own up to
having
'tokoloshes' in front of a whole community.
Jeremiah
then took his wooden staff and pointed at the bags. He
sprinkled "holy
water" on the bags.
On approaching the first bag Jeremiah
appeared to go into a trance.
His assistant, opened the next bag , but it
appeared the process went awry.
He collapsed, as if struck by something
invisible to those of us watching
this drama. The others rushed to his
rescue. He was able to dip the
"tokoloshe" in the "holy water", rendering it
"powerless".
The remaining bags were checked but nothing was
found. It was
suggested they had failed to trap the
"tokoloshes".
Fooled or was this real?
We were
invited to draw closer to see the "creatures". The first was a
snake - a
dead snake, grey in colour and metre-long but curiously wrapped
with
condoms.
"This snake has just engaged in a sexually activity
with a human
being," Jeremiah claimed. "Hmmm," I wondered.
The next "tokoloshe" was rather bizarre: beaded black stockings in
half and
garishly decorating a calabash with a carved head of a person.
This was the work of beautiful art turned gory, I muttered to myself.
My
thoughts were interrupted by an announcement from Jeremiah: "This has
blood
in it and it survives on human blood." The cleansing process was
repeated
several times with spectacular "findings". The "tokoloshes" were
then taken
away to be burnt. I followed at a distance, emotions of fear and
dismay
competing.
One of the men accompanied by his octogenarian
mother, his wife and
three female members of his family said they had
undergone a transformation.
There was a sudden change on their faces. They
were fresh smiling. It was as
if a heavy burden had been lifted off their
shoulders.
Peter told me about his experience too. But he could
not find a ready
explanation.
Jeremiah said he was born
Meryward Marara 30 years ago in Mount
Darwin, Mashonaland Central. He is
married and has two children who live in
Gweru.
I left with
more questions than answers. I need another take.
BY BOLD
HUNGWE
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 20 June 2009
21:00
PRIME Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has appealed to Zimbabweans in
the
Diaspora to return and help rebuild the country, ahead of his meeting
with
UK Premier Gordon Brown tomorrow.
This weekend Tsvangirai
will hold a meeting in Southwark Cathedral for
exiled Zimbabweans living in
Britain, of which there are an estimated one
million.
He says
he wants them to come home and help rebuild the country. "The
government
needs these professionals," he told one UK newspaper in an
interview, "and
we also need whatever savings they made to help economic
development. It is
time to come home."
However, yesterday a leading human rights
activist appealed to Britain
not to increase aid to the country's unity
government.
Jenni Williams, whose Women of Zimbabwe Arise
movement (Woza) has been
at the forefront of protests against President
Robert Mugabe's government,
denounced the power-sharing coalition as a
"failure" and warned expatriate
Zimbabweans not to return
home.
Williams condemned the initiative. "How can he ask
Zimbabweans to come
home when his own people are being beaten for saying
they are refugees in
their own country?" she said.
Other
groups echoed Williams' warning that little has changed in
Zimbabwe. "I am
very much afraid that Tsvangirai is being used by Mugabe as
a facade to
attract EU donor money and that they will do away with him and
his party
once they have got what they want," said Fambai Ngirande, from
Zimbabwe's
national association of non-government organisations.
On the last leg of his eight-nation tour of Europe and the US to drum
up
support for the four months old coalition government, Tsvangirai scoffed
at
the suggestion that he was on President Robert Mugabe's errand.
"Firstly, this trip was my initiative because after four months I
wanted
Western leaders to hear first hand what was happening in Zimbabwe.
Secondly,
the process is under way and after a constitutional referendum,
the
president and the prime minister will decide when the elections will
take
place."
Tsvangirai's tour, which has taken him to the United
States of
America, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Belgium is meant to
raise
funds to revive the economy.
At least US$132 million
had been pledged so far. But the money will
not be channelled through
government structures but non-governmental
organisations as humanitarian
assistance. Western countries, sceptical of
President Mugabe's commitment to
reform, are unwilling to give aid directly
to the government as long as
outstanding issues from the Global Political
Agreement remain
unresolved.
Monday's meeting is unlikely to loosen UK's purse
strings after Mark
Malloch-Brown, junior foreign minister said Britain would
only lift
sanctions when Zimbabwe's transition to democracy "has reached a
point of no
return".
Zimbabwe requires US$10 billion to
finance the implementation of the
revival plan, Short Term Emergency
Recovery Programme launched in March by
Finance Minister Tendai
Biti.
Tsvangirai was in Brussels on Thursday at the official
launch of the
Zimbabwe/EU Dialogue meant to revive the country's relations
with the
27-member EU bloc.
An outcome of the dialogue was
an EU pledge of transitional support to
Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe broke ranks with
Brussels in 2002.
Thursday's meeting with the EU officials had
its lighter moments too,
according to information from the PM's
office.
After the EU had pledged transitional support for
Zimbabwe, Foreign
Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi is said to have
remarked: "VaPrime
Minister kuda zvimwe midzimu yeZimbabwe inokudai ("Mr
Prime Minister, it
appears Zimbabwe's ancestral spirits love
you)."
Tsvangirai's visits are a diplomatic coup for Zimbabwe
which had
endured a decade of isolation.
Tsvangirai's delegation
comprises Tourism Minister Walter Mzembi,
Biti, Elton Mangoma (Economic
Planning Minister), Priscilla
Misihairabwi-Mushonga (Regional Integration
Minister), Mumbengegwi and
Patrick Chinamasa.
Chinamasa,
Biti and Mumbengegwi were not part of the US tour but
joined the delegation
in Brussels.
Despite offering aid to Zimbabwe, Denmark, Germany, Norway
and US said
the financial floodgates would be opened if the country
undertakes
democratic reforms.
Zimbabwe's relations with
western capitals deteriorated due to the
country's human rights
violation.
The issue of human rights violation will be
discussed tomorrow when
Tsvangirai meets Amnesty International secretary
general Irene Khan who was
recently in Zimbabwe on a fact-finding
mission.
Khan who addressed a press conference on Thursday gave
a grim outlook
of the human rights situation in the country four months into
the inclusive
government.
Khan said she would discuss with
Tsvangirai a wide range of issues and
the findings of her one-week visit in
Zimbabwe.
Government sources say western countries have shown
willingness to
assist Zimbabwe get out of the mud.
MDC-T
spokesperson Nelson Chamisa said while the tour was
government-sanctioned,
the party sees the sojourn as a success.
"As a party we feel
that it is a successful tour basing from the
reports we're getting," he said
adding that the party is confident the
diplomatic engagement will bear
fruits.
"Zimbabwe will benefit from what the Prime Minister has
done," said
John Makumbe, a political science professor at the University of
Zimbabwe.
"He (Tsvangirai) is bringing back a strong message
that sanctions will
stay as long as there is no meaningful
power-sharing."
Makumbe said the re-engagement of western
capitals is an important
step to reconstruct Zimbabwe.
Since
President Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara formed a
coalition
government in February, things seem to be moving in the right
direction for
the southern African nation.
Global lending institutions such
as the International Monetary Fund
and the World Bank have pledged to open
lines of credit if Zimbabwe clears
its arrears.
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 20 June 2009 20:55
THE
wife of an army chief who died in mysterious circumstances two
years ago
yesterday made a startling announcement: she said her husband was
"killed by
some people either on their own accord or on the orders of those
high-ups".
Tatenda, the wife of Brigadier-General Armstrong
Paul Gunda, said the
killers would face justice one day or God would punish
them.
The grieving wife made an unprecedented move - paying for a
full page
advert to announce to the nation that her husband, declared a
national hero,
had not died a natural death.
She also
raised several questions that could be followed up by
investigators, if ever
there is an inquiry into his mysterious death.
Gunda, a former
commander of 1 Brigade, died on June 20, 2007 after
his car reportedly
collided with a goods train at Watershed School, outside
Marondera.
Gunda was declared a national hero and buried at
Heroes' Acre. At the
time of his death, Gunda was linked to an alleged coup
plot to overthrow
President Robert Mugabe.
At least six
civilians and serving army officers were arrested in 2007
on these
allegations. Two generals also allegedly involved in the coup were
Brigadier-General Fakazi Muleya and Retired Major-General Gideon Lifa, who
died in the same month as Gunda.
Commemorating her
husband's death, Tatenda said in the advertisement
those who took her
husband's life would be punished.
"Those who carried out the
killing of the late Brigadier-General
either on their own accord or on the
orders of those higher-ups must know
that one day God will punish them or
one day they will face justice," she
said.
Tatenda, who
says the army chief told her on the fateful day that he
was going to
Bulawayo for a meeting said: "The last call came from someone
who said that
you were wanted in Harare. Your phone was not reachable the
whole night.
Where did you sleep that night? Who knew you were going to pick
(up) your
son from Watershed the following morning? Where did you report
when you
arrived in Harare that afternoon? Whom did you tell about your
movements?"
Tatenda further questioned the type of train
her husband was involved
in a collision with and why he was found lying on
the passenger's seat.
"Who drove you to Watershed? Why was your
cellphone ringing in a
suitcase? Your clothes which you were wearing the day
you left Bulawayo were
full of blood from your head but were in your
suitcase at the back of your
bakkie."
Tatenda also said she
was surprised to see her husband wearing
different clothes from the ones he
was wearing before and indicated that
someone might have killed him and put
him in the car.
"To my surprise you were dressed in different
clothes when they found
you lying in passenger's seat and there were no
blood stains in the car,"
Tatenda said.
In 2007 marking the
29th day of his death Tatenda also placed an
advert saying Gunda's
mysterious death had left her speechless.
The results of his
post mortem were not made public. At the time of
his death he was also
believed to have been under house arrest.
BY SANDRA
MANDIZVIDZA
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 20
June 2009 20:50
THE inclusive government has started a process to
reform perennial
loss-making parastatals, a cabinet minister has
said.
Joel Gabbuza, the Minister of State Enterprises and
Parastatals, said
the reforms would be in line with government's Short Term
Emergency Recovery
Programme (Sterp).
He said his ministry,
with the help of the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP), was
drafting a corporate governance framework which would
provide guidelines to
the professional running of the institutions.
"We are also
developing a performance monitoring framework which will
bind boards to
achieve the objectives of their respective entities," he
said.
"This will see all senior managers and board members
being engaged on
contracts and if one fails to deliver, they will be fired
without any
hesitation.
"Our vision is to see these
parastatals begin to declare a dividend
for the shareholder, something they
have not been doing for a while now."
Gabbuza said while some
entities will be privatised, others will
simply be commercialised or
restructured.
"Although we have not yet implemented
privatisation, the plan is that
those companies of a strategic nature like
Zesa and ZBC will not be
privatised but will be re-organised either through
encouraging them to
restructure or commercialise and be run along
professional lines like what
happened with CMED.
"Entities
like the Grain Marketing Board and the National Oil Company
of Zimbabwe may
be re-organised in terms of ownership and operations.
"All we
need to do is capacitate them and make sure that they are
ready to face
competition, then open them up to competition."
Already, the
inclusive government has started reforming Air Zimbabwe
which has been
rocked by labour disputes following the announcement that
half of the
workforce would lose their jobs.
"We realised that Air
Zimbabwe's problems were more of organisational
problems and recommended
that they cut down on their operation costs,
including salaries but we
emphasised that they should follow labour laws and
consult the workers and
their representatives," Gabbuza said.
"We cannot have 1 000
workers for just four aeroplanes, that is not
being
business-minded.
"But the problem is that the company has
chosen to get rid of
low-remunerated people while retaining people with high
salaries."
Gabbuza said other recommendations were that Air
Zimbabwe re-organises
its routes and gets rid of loss-making ones while also
reducing on external
posting of managers through rationalising some of the
international offices.
The parastatal will be monitored over
three months beginning last
month to see how it responds to the reforms, he
said, adding that there had
already been some notable changes over the past
three weeks.
"There is some positive impact in that, instead of
half a million
dollars loss recorded last month, the company as of this week
recorded just
US$100 000 loss and we look forward to a stage where they will
record zero
loss."
He said long-term reforms for the
company would include partnerships
and improving on cargo service which
seemed to be making more money than the
passenger service.
But consumer groups and civil society have spoken against
privatisation,
saying it will encourage commercialisation and hence lead to
exorbitant
prices of basic services like water and electricity.
"Such
companies as Dairibord and Cottco should serve as examples that
it is not
true that privatisation leads to expensive products," he said.
Gabbuza said in order to realise revenue, government would also have
to
allow such companies as Hwange, where it has a major stake, to run
independently and only worry about getting its dividend.
"Hwange is a private company which is listed on the stock exchange and
if
ever government's footprints are to be seen there, they must be there in
good faith," he said.
"We do not want a repetition of the
past scenario whereby government
frustrated other shareholders through
interfering with the running of the
company to an extent of suppressing coal
prices to below production cost.
"The argument which has been
given is the need to ensure lower
electricity prices but we would rather
have proper pricing and have Zesa
running to everyone's
satisfaction.
"If government needs to maintain subsidies, which
are there in many
countries anyway, it will have to create a subsidies
account and pay for
that subsidy otherwise the current position is that this
government is not
going to fund these entities which have been given money
before but threw it
down the drain.
BY JENNIFER DUBE
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 20 June 2009 20:46
POLICE
on Friday refused permission to gender activists from all over
the country
who had intended to march in Harare yesterday to demand greater
women's
involvement in the constitution-making process.
On Friday more than
1 500 women from all over Zimbabwe gathered at the
Harare International
Conference Centre for a consultative conference on the
constitutional review
process. The conference was organised jointly by the
Women's Coalition of
Zimbabwe and the Ministry of Women's Affairs, Gender
and Community
Development.
The conference had been scheduled to end yesterday
morning with a
march from Africa Unity Square followed by a press
conference.
An official from the Ministry of Women's Affairs
who spoke on
condition of anonymity confirmed to The Standard the police had
reportedly
prevented the march saying there were "too many marches"
scheduled on the
same day.
The police were referring to the
MDC-T-organised Day of the African
Child Commemorations in Africa Unity
Square.
"If police had really wanted us to hold this march we
would have but
clearly they did not," said the official.
"As far as
we know there were only two events scheduled at the African
Unity Square,
ours and the Day of the Africa Child by the MDC-T and I am
sure these two if
done at two different times would not have caused any
commotion at
all.
"Our march was going to be peaceful. Police must have felt
our issues
as women were not important and this is why we are embracing the
opportunity
for a new constitution as women to guarantee our basic
freedoms."
Speaking at the one-day conference, the national
co-ordinator of WCOZ
Netsai Mushonga said women wanted to take half of the
positions available in
the sub-committees that will spearhead the
constitutional review process.
At the present moment there are
only 32% of women in the parliamentary
select committee while appointments
for the sub-committees and drafters are
still pending.
"We
want consultation to include 50% women so that they capture their
concerns
and allow for all women to actively take part. We want consultation
times to
be gender-sensitive," Mushonga said.
There are 10 reasons set
out by the Zimbabwe Women Lawyers
Associationwhy women need a new
constitution. Among the reasons is the fact
that the current Lancaster House
Constitution does not provide for social
and economic rights of
women.
It also does not give an enabling framework for the
inclusion of women
in decision-making positions such as parliament and
cabinet as it does not
set out quotas for female representation, leaving
political parties to set
out their own parameters.
The
women also argue that the constitution prohibits dual citizenship
because
married women are forced to renounce their citizenship if they marry
foreigners. If foreign women marry Zimbabwean men they must also renounce
their citizenship. Mushonga said these are some of the issues they will be
pushing for.
BY BERTHA SHOKO
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 20 June 2009
18:21
BULAWAYO - King Lobengula must be turning in his grave at the way
his
last royal residence, a few kilometres from the present day's "City of
Kings", has deteriorated.
The alarming state of neglect of
Old Bulawayo, which has angered
Ndebele traditionalists, first came to light
during a recent state visit by
Swaziland's King Mswati III whose scheduled
tour of the site was cancelled
at the last minute by authorities who feared
embarrassment.
Touted as Zimbabwe's first cultural theme park
when it was officially
opened by Vice- President Joseph Msika in 2006, the
monument is now an
eyesore.
Old Bulawayo was rebuilt along
the lines of settlements in King
Zwelithini's kingdom in South Africa's
KwaZulu-Natal by the department of
National Museums and Monuments of
Zimbabwe in order to attract tourists.
But a visit to the site
last week showed that the reconstructed
beehive huts that were once
inhabited by King Lobengula and his inner circle
were caving
in.
There is no evidence that the royal residence has been
maintained
after the official opening.
Pathisa Nyathi, a
prominent historian who has written extensively on
the Ndebele state, said
the collapse of the monument had stymied a number of
important cultural
events.
"The original plan was to create a theme park at the
monument where
people would live and lead a Ndebele lifestyle," Nyathi
said.
"This means that the people would conduct traditional
ceremonies such
as umbuyiso (bringing home ancestral spirits), weddings, and
installation of
a king.
"All this was aimed at ensuring
that the Ndebele culture is preserved
and people keep on being reminded of
their cultural values."
Bulawayo Publicity Association's
Valerie Bell said the country could
be losing millions of dollars in
potential revenue as tourists interested in
visiting the cultural site were
not able to do so.
She said the road leading to site was in a
deplorable state, further
diminishing Old Bulawayo's potential as a
high-profile tourist attraction.
Critics blame the NMMZ for the
neglect of the theme park but the
department's director for the western
region, Darlington Munyikwa, said the
site is a victim of the country's
unending economic problems.
"As a parastatal, we depend on
government funding and so far we have
not managed to get any money from the
government and this has made our
operations a bit difficult," Munyikwa
said.
"It is not that we are neglecting our
monuments.
"We are conserving these sites but we have a lot of
challenges that
we are facing in our effort to manage the
sites."
He said the department had started cutting grass at Old
Bulawayo and
there were also moves to start reconstructing the fence at the
king's
homestead.
Munyikwa said Lobengula's descendants
were still being allowed to hold
traditional ceremonies at the
site.
"To let that monument die just like that would be the most tragic
thing ever to happen to a society and a country in general," Nyathi
warned.
BY NKULULEKO SIBANDA
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 20 June
2009 18:05
MASVINGO - The Zanu PF Women's League provincial
chairperson, Shylet
Uyoyo, was last week arraigned before the magistrates'
court for allegedly
threatening a journalist from a weekly paper that
published a story linking
her to a spate of armed robberies.
Uyoyo, who claims to be a war veteran, told Tatenda Prosper Chitagu, a
senior reporter at the Masvingo Mirror, that she would make his life in the
city "hell".
This was after the journalist reported that the
politician, who has
lost two consecutive parliamentary elections in Masvingo
on a Zanu PF
ticket, had been linked to armed robberies have that rocked the
city since
early this year involving her Mazda B1800
truck.
The vehicle was allegedly used as a getaway in the
robberies.
She was not asked to plead when she appeared before
provincial
magistrate Walter Chikwanha who remanded her out of custody on
free bail to
tomorrow (June 22) for trial.
Uyoyo is facing
assault charges.
It is the state's case that on April 2, Uyoyo
in the company of Zanu
PF youths, descended on the Masvingo Mirror offices
in the city centre.
They demanded to know why Chitagu and the
newspaper had published a
story linking her to armed
robberies.
Sensing danger, the newspaper's editor, Golden
Maunganidze locked
Chitagu in one of their offices as Uyoyo was reportedly
seething with anger
and threatening to mete out instant justice on
him.
The state further alleges that Uyoyo went on to threaten
that she was
going to make Chitagu's life in the city
unbearable.
Uyoyo reportedly screamed: "If ever I get to see
him, he (Chitagu)
will never walk freely in the streets of this
city.''
Maunganidze then immediately made a report to the
police at Masvingo
Central leading to Uyoyo's arrest.
Tineyi
Matenga appeared for the State.
This is not the first time
that Zanu PF militias in the province have
threatened
journalists.
Two years ago this reporter was abducted and held
captive for more
than five hours by Zanu PF militia on the outskirts of
Mupandawana Growth
point in Gutu.
BY GODFREY MUTIMBA
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 20 June 2009
15:26
MUTUMWA Mawere is set to reclaim his seized assets following
indications that the government wants to return SMM Holdings to the
businessman on the basis that the company was expropriated on spurious
grounds.
The move to return Mawere's assets comes hard on the
heels of calls by
Deputy Prime Minister, Arthur Mutambara for government to
grant amnesty to
exiled businessmen as a way of restoring investor
confidence in the country.
On Friday, Standardbusiness heard the
process to return the assets
began after President Robert Mugabe was advised
that Mawere's assets were
seized illegally.
Mawere lost his
empire in 2004 after the government said his companies
were indebted to the
state and were seized using the Reconstruction of
State-Indebted Insolvent
Companies Act.
At that time, SMM owed government owned institutions
such as RBZ,
ZESA, Zimbabwe Revenue Authority and Treasury money that had
been negotiated
through various ways.
Information obtained last
week shows that Mugabe had been advised that
SMM's takeover was irregular as
the government-owned institutions that SMM
owed money were legal
entities.
"President Mugabe was told that although the institutions
are owned by
the state, they had advanced money to SMM on different terms
and that it was
wrong to say that SMM was indebted to the government," said
a source
familiar with the developments.
"The President was
told the grabbing of Mawere's assets was not in the
national interest but
for some politicians trying to score some cheap
points," another source
said.
It was not immediately clear what would happen to Mawere's
previous
stake in ZSE-listed Zimre Holdings Limited.
Government
took advantage of Mawere's specification to increase its
shareholding during
the 2005 capital-raising initiative.
This paper understands that
FSI Agricom, a subsidiary of SMM would be
returned to Mawere's
empire.
FSI was taken over in 2005 on claims it owed quasi-government
agencies
$115 billion.
But while there are plans to return
Mawere's seized crown, a fierce
resistance has gathered momentum with SMM
administrator Arafas Gwaradzimba
leading the pack.
In a May 19,
2009 letter to Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa,
Gwaradzimba said there
were attempts to tamper with the reconstruction
process in a bid to hand
back Mawere his assets which he said was
ill-advised.
"The
reason for this was that we have come a long way on the SMM
reconstruction.
"An Act of Parliament had to be passed to deal
with the special
circumstances of SMM -The Reconstruction of State-Indebted
Insolvent
Companies Act," he wrote.
Gwaradzimba told Chinamasa
that they should let the reconstruction
process be followed to the
letter.
"After that, if GOZ (Government of Zimbabwe) see it fit they
can give
back to MDM (Mutumwa Dziva Mawere) the control and ownership of
SMM, for
whatever reason," he wrote.
"I have already discussed
with Your Honourable Minister, MDM's alleged
approaches to people in GOZ
lying that he had the liquidators of South
Africa on his side, and they were
wondering why his companies had been put
in liquidation."
Gwaradzimba said the process had to be concluded.
"Now, there is
the request to stop/postpone litigation! Is the SMM
story, the story we
would want repeated in Zimbabwe, one which we can be
proud of as leaders
passing on to our children and those beyond, one
wonders!"
But
Gwaradzimba's move to halt the return of Mawere's assets is not
without
reason, this paper heard on Friday.
Managing SMM has been one of
AMG's cash cows. As administrator, he
rakes in 6% of the company's group
earnings.
This is more than the money received by the shareholders
of the
company.
Mutambara told Parliament on Wednesday that the
new dispensation will
struck off statutes that drive away from the country
enterprising
businessmen.
He said government should not have
laws that are vindictive and
retrogressive but should salute its own
superstars who have excelled in
their business endeavours.
Mawere acquired SMM in 1996 from British firm T&N.
At
acquisition in March 1996, SMM had three business entities
operating in
Zimbabwe that was part of the transaction, African Associated
Mines, the
mining division of SMM op erating two mines - Shabanie and
Mashaba Mines -
Tube & Pipe Industries and Turnall Fibre Cement.
After
wrestling SMM from Mawere in 2004, the government through AMG
Global
nominees took the case to the UK courts for them to be registered as
the
owners of the company.
SMM is registered in the British Virgin
Island.
Mawere said Gwaradzimba has no role in SMM.
"The foreign creditors including Petter, Coma, HCR and others have not
been
settled to date.
"The liquidators of the companies have not had any
access to
Gwaradzimba who as a creature of statute has powers that go beyond
the
normal liquidators. He has helped himself to 6% of the gross income of
SMM
as fees.
"This can hardly be described as helping SMM from
collapse," he said.
Gwaradzimba's office said the AMG boss is away
and will be back in
office tomorrow (Monday).
Chinamasa is in
Europe as part of the Zimbabwe delegation re-engaging
the European
Union.
BY NDAMU SANDU
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 20 June 2009
15:20
A STEERING committee has been set up to spearhead the creation of
a
structure that will push for the streamlining of processes prospective
investors undergo to set up business in Zimbabwe.
Under the One
Stop Shop (OSS) project proposed by the Zimbabwe
Investment Authority (ZIA)
all processes that investors must follow should
be housed under one
roof.
Richard Mbaiwa, ZIA chief executive officer said a steering
committee
chaired by the authority had been set up to recommend the most
appropriate
structure that could be adopted in the transformation to a
OSS.
The committee has members from the departments of immigration,
deeds,
registrar of companies and the Intellectual Property Office, Ministry
of
Labour and Social Services, ZESA, and City of Harare.
"In
doing so there was am urgent need to harmonise the processes and
procedures
of ZIA and those of other relevant organisations from where
investors seek
permits to operate business, with the objective being to
expedite the
investment approval process and other processes linked to
this," Mbaiwa
said.
The OSS has been adopted elsewhere on the continent with
success.
The Rwanda model was chosen as the ideal one that could be
implemented
in Zimbabwe.
Under the Rwanda model, senior
officials drawn from various government
departments meet once a week and
make decisions on applications for
different permits by
investors.
The decisions made at these meetings are final and
binding.
There is general agreement amongst the stakeholders on the
establishment of ZIA as a one-stop-shop along the above lines and this will
be implemented immediately.
Mbaiwa said there is need to
capacitate the relevant institutions in
terms of human resources and
Information Communication Technology in order
to enhance their capacity to
process licences and permits in shorter
turn-around periods and to improve
communication among all stakeholders who
interface with
investors.
BY ROBINA MANGADZE
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 20 June 2009
15:20
FINANCIAL institutions that fail to raise the required minimum
capital
by September 30 will be forced to merge or go under as the monetary
authorities move in to bolster confidence in a sector battered by years of
economic collapse.
Sources last week revealed that only two out
of 28 players had met the
minimum capital requirements when the Reserve Bank
carried out an audit of
the financial sector in March.
In a
circular to financial institutions a fortnight ago, RBZ governor
Gideon Gono
announced a phased plan for enforcement of the minimum equity
capital
requirements
Banks would have to satisfy 50% of the requirements by
September 30
while the remainder must be settled by March 31 next
year.
Commercial banks must have a minimum capital of US$6.25
million by
September 30 and US$12.5 million by March 31.
Building societies and merchant banks should have US$5 million by
September
30 and US$10 million by the close of business on March 31 next
year.
Finance and Discount Houses should have US$3.75 million
this year and
US$7.5 million by March 31.
Asset managers are
supposed to have US$1.25 million as minimum capital
by September 30 and
US$2.5 million by March 31.
Information obtained last week show
that there is a flurry of activity
in the sector as players plot the way
forward.
Gono said institutions that fail to comply with the
prescribed levels
were required to have submitted a detailed
recapitalisation plan to the
central bank by Monday.
Information gathered last week showed that the RBZ's move to set
minimum
capital requirements had the blessing of Finance Minister Tendai
Biti.
In the past, Biti said if banks were to undergo stress
tests, very few
would pass.
Governments the world over are
bolstering the banking sector after
they were blamed for triggering the
global meltdown.
Officials at the central bank told
Standardbusiness, the apex bank
insists that institutions should meet the
minimum capital requirements.
"There is no going back on the
minimum capital requirements, they have
to meet them, merge or in the worst
case go under," the official said.
Sources say the central bank had
also proposed a plan for banks to
merge to create strong
institutions.
A banking executive said the sector is depressed as
the economy is not
performing well.
He said there are "too many
banks for an economy like Zimbabwe".
There are 15 operating
commercial banks, six merchant banks, three
discount houses, four building
societies and 17 asset managers for an
economy that has been posting
negative growth during the past three years.
Bankers' Association
of Zimbabwe chairman, John Mangudya said the
industry felt that the minimum
capital requirements were reasonable and the
sector had requested for the
figures to be attained gradually.
Mangudya said capitalisation was
an important benchmark in banking
and finance.
"We are saying
yes to capital and yes to a phased approach," he said.
Asked what
would be the fate of institutions that failed to adhere to
the regulations,
Mangudya said such decisions rested solely with
shareholders.
BY NDAMU SANDU
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 20 June 2009 15:20
POOR supervision and the acute brain drain have delayed the completion
of
major government projects by the more than 14 years, a new audit report
released by the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (OCAG) has
revealed.
The audit, which covered construction projects for
the period 2003 to
2008, said delays in the completion of construction
projects ranged from
three to 14 years a move that has seen costs going
through the roof.
At least 11 projects were reviewed and they
include the Criminal
Investigation Department; Harare Central Registry;
Interpol Sub-Regional
Office; Harare Central Hospital, Marondera Central
Hospital; and
Meteorological Office.
Progress on the
construction of Tafara, Dzivarasekwa, Mutoko, Murehwa
and Hwedza District
Offices; Budiriro 1&2 High Schools; and Mazowe Cell
Block was also
assessed.
"The delays in supervision were partly caused by acute
shortage of
architects who left government service for greener pastures,"
the report
said.
"Those still in employment could not cope with
the ever increasing
number of projects."
According to the
report, at the time of the audit there was one
architect for 83 projects
against the international standard of one
architect to five
projects.
It is a requirement that supervision of projects be
carried out by
architects and the technical team.
"However, I noted
that the department has been hard hit by high staff
turnover as technical
expertise is highly sought after in neighbouring
countries," said
Comptroller and Auditor General Mildred Chiri.
She said that while
there was a high turnover of staff, construction
projects were
increasing.
Chiri said the efficiency and effectiveness of the Public
Works
Department had been compromised due to work overload on the part of
its
architects.
"I am concerned that the quality of work by the
department's
architects could be compromised which would negatively affect
the quality of
the construction works," the report said.
"On
the other hand I was concerned that projects costs continue to
increase due
to delays by the PWD to timeously carry out project
supervision, site visits
and meetings because of shortage of architects."
The OCAG reviewed
11 project files to obtain information on
construction progress of
contracted and in house projects in the respective
ministries.
Work on the CID block started in September 1999 and was scheduled to
be
completed by September 2001.
As of November last year, 83% of the
project had been completed.
The purpose of the CID project was to
provide adequate office
accommodation for CID staff and for storage of
security information.
The OCAG said at the time of the audit, there
was no evidence of
adequate supervision of the project being undertaken on a
monthly basis and
the technical team did not attend site meetings held on
April 25, June 28
and December 6, 2005, the report said.
During
the period under review, the contractor was not carrying out
construction
work but he charged Ps &Gs (Preliminaries and Generals) of Z$11
727 000
(being Z$643 000 per month for crane hire and Z$660 000 for forklift
hire)
as per rates.
"The Ps & Gs were an additional cost to the
project which had to be
met from state funds," the report said.
The Harare Central Hospital project started in October 2003 and its
intended
date of completion was May 2005.
As of November last year, only 35%
of the project had been completed.
BY NDAMU SANDU
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 20 June 2009 15:57
MY cousin, Bessie died last week. She was
only 37. She had not been
very well for a long time.
She had
been away for a lengthy period. Her husband, our mukuwasha
brought her back
to the village in her fragile state. She stayed there, in
her place of birth
until her final moments being cared for by maiguru, her
mother and the
extended family.
There is very little in the village. Things are tough.
It is here
where a forgotten tribe of Zimbabweans reside and try to eke out
a living -
the tribe of the rural dwellers.
As usual
funerals are the rare occasions when the city-types meet with
this forgotten
tribe. They come to pay their last respects. They also come
with provisions
to cater for the mourners. The city types come face to face
with the sad
reality of rural life. There is no US dollar here. There is no
Rand.
But the sense of community remains intact. You have
to admire the
spirit. Men and women come from all corners to bury one of
their own. And so
on this occasion, they came together to bury their
daughter for everyone
here is everyone's child.
An uncle
from the city went down to the village cemetery. There he
found the usual
types - the men who whenever communal duty calls, drop
everything to attend
to the chores attendant upon a funeral. These were the
grave diggers, taking
turns to dig the dry and hard earth with their basic
tools.
If
they are lucky in these days someone gets them some opaque beer to
get them
going. That is why they are happy when they see the city boys -
surely one
of them can spare a dollar or two to get a few litres of the good
waters.
They were happy to see uncle; even happier with the alcoholic
beverage they
had been waiting for.
One of the diggers called uncle away for
a private conversation.
It took a while for uncle to recognise
him.
They had been together in primary school centuries ago. But a
combination of the elements and time had registered heavily on uncle's
ex-schoolmate. Here was a man who had clearly had to bear the heavier load
of life's burdens and they had left him a broken man. He reminded uncle
about the old days.
He chuckled and laughed as he told uncle
how large he had become over
the years. He was pleased to see his old mate.
His name is Champion. No one
knows why his father had chosen that title for
him.
As the conversation progressed he apologised. Champion
apologised for
the request that he was about to make. Like every man here,
he is proud and
tries hard to work his way through life so even the thought
of making this
request made him uncomfortable. Uncle urged him to feel
free.
"Shamwari," Champion started "Ndinokumbirawo dhora. Dhora
chete" ("My
friend, can I please ask for one US dollar. Just one US
Dollar.") He was
pleading. He wanted a dollar; a single US dollar. Uncle
asked why just a
dollar and what he wanted it for.
Champion
explained, "Shamwari, zvinhu zvakaoma kuno kumaruzevha.
Hatina mari iyoyi
yakauya iyi. Ini nemhuri tapedza two weeks tichidya mangai
because hatina
mari yacho yekugaisa chibage.
Saka hatikwanisi kudya sadza" ("My
friend, things are tough for us
here in the rural areas. My family and I
have been surviving on a daily diet
of boiled maize because we have no money
to process the maize into
maize-meal. So we haven't had Sadza for ages").
Sadza, a thick porridge made
from maize-meal is the staple diet in
Zimbabwe.
But tell me Champion, how have you survived all
along, uncle enquired.
He was keen to know more about how the rural folk
have been surviving since
the introduction of the new money and Champion
seemed to be a willing
source.
Champion explained, "Well,
in the beginning the millers accepted
barter trading. To process a bucket of
maize into maize-meal, we would give
the miller a smaller bucket of maize as
payment. It worked for a while. We
got maize-meal and he got some maize in
return.
At least we could cook sadza and have a decent meal" He
paused for
moment as he lit his chimonera (rolled cigarette) and took a
quick pull,
then shook his head as he continued. "But now the miller has
changed.
Perhaps he now has too much of the maize. So he now demands either
US
dollars or Rands.
Trouble is, us folks don't have that kind
of money. I have never seen
a US dollar. I do not even know what it looks
like. But, my friend, my
children also want sadza. It's embarrassing my
friend to be in a position
where the children cry and you, as the man of the
house you cannot provide
for them. That is why I ask for a dollar. Just one
dollar will do because I
can go to the miller tomorrow to process some
maize-meal. Just one dollar,
shamwari. At least the family will eat sadza
for a few days", he pleaded.
Uncle felt pity for Champion, his
old mate. He took out two dollars
and handed it to Champion. The man was
grateful - almost going down on his
knees to dramatically register his
gratitude.
To have asked for just one dollar and then got two
dollars seemed like
a miracle. He looked long and hard at the two, wrinkly
notes - they have
been exchanged so much between so many hands they are
barely recognisable.
He was pleased. He was happy to have finally
got a US dollar in his
hands. "I am probably the richest man among my
friends at the moment", he
quipped, pointing to his fellow grave-diggers. "I
bet none of them has ever
seen a US dollar, let alone used it!" he said with
a chuckle; the laugh of a
very relieved man. He offered uncle a bucketful of
maize but uncle declined.
He said the two dollars was his
gift.
There are many 'Champions' in the rural areas of
Zimbabwe. They are
the forgotten tribe of Zimbabweans; a tribe of the
economically impoverished
for whom dollarization of the currency was a
catalyst for a harsh
displacement from the formal economy. Whatever little
they had in the
zillions of Zimbabwe dollars was lost when the conversion
occurred without
adequate notice or the facility for exchange.
Of course even Zimbabweans in the urban areas where affected,
particularly
pensioners. But at least in the cities the 'kiya-kiya' culture
(wheeling-dealing) facilitates opportunities for urban-dwellers to get
access to the new currencies. The situation is markedly different in the
rural areas where the opportunities are severely limited.
It is here where Zimbabwe's poorest reside. It is in these rural areas
where
the harsh effects of a severely broken economy have registered more
vividly.
They have little, if any, access to the multi-currencies in use
elsewhere.
They are virtual spectators; bystanders whose options are
severely limited.
They have been reduced to the basic barter-trade economy
where you exchange
one good for another. It may work sometimes as Champion
explained but it is
unsustainable in the long run.
Champion may have earned two
dollars from his begging enterprise but
it is not enough to serve him and
his family for the long term.
Meanwhile, they buried my cousin.
They say by the time she passed on,
she was in a bad state. They had cared
for her in the village. There was
nothing else that could have been done.
They could do no more at the local
clinic. So at 37, sisi Bessie was
liberated from this world - a young life
taken away.
She leaves
young children. Our mukuwasha had stayed on in the village
after he brought
her back. He is a man of limited means. He could not even
mobilise bus fare
to return to his home. So the family put together the
little that was
available and sent him away.
Scenes like this are not isolated.
They are a daily occurrence across
Zimbabwe; especially in rural Zimbabwe,
where the US dollar is still to
arrive. There are many who, like Champion
are asking for nothing more than
just a dollar. There are many who like sisi
Bessie are departing in the
prime of their lives; many like my community,
who continue to plod on toward
an uncertain future. They are the forgotten
tribe of Zimbabwe - the rural
tribe.
Alex Magaisa is based at,
Kent Law School, the University of Kent and
can be contacted at wamagaisa@yahoo.co.uk or a.t.magaisa@kent.ac.uk
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 20
June 2009 15:45
LAST week's announcement that 40 more commercial
farmers had received
offer letters under the government's chaotic land
reform programme is
disingenuous.
Several factors forced the
government to make the move. The first was
that the issue of farm invasions
and eviction of commercial farmers from
their properties was threatening to
overshadow the Prime Minister's tour of
Europe.
Hardliners in
government realised that the tour would yield little
except expressions of
concern.
The second reason is that because of Zanu PF's
insincerity in
implementing the Global Political Agreement in full,
government ministers
from that party were going to be denied travel visas to
Europe. One of them
had already been embarrassed on the US leg of the Prime
Minister's
eight-nation tour.
Three of the government
ministers from Zanu PF were likely to be
denied travel visas to Europe. The
last minute issuance of visas to three of
the ministers suggests a
climb-down by Harare. But there is also desperate
competition by ministers
from that party to be among the first to be granted
permission to travel to
Europe.
So that's how we ended up with this charade, which sees
the majority
of the beneficiaries being wildlife conservancy operators. The
truth is that
ordinary land-hungry rural Zimbabweans presently do not have
the resources
to operate conservancies. The government is therefore intent
on misleading
world opinion.
If there was a genuine desire
on the part of Zanu PF elements within
the government to allow white
commercial farmers back on the land, the wave
of fresh farm invasions would
have ceased, prosecution of commercial farmers
for remaining on their farms
would have stopped and the government would
respect the recent Sadc Tribunal
ruling on 70 commercial farmers whose
properties the government wants to
expropriate.
The government is insincere because it is allowing
disruptions to farm
operations even though it is aware that the country
faces a crippling wheat
shortage. Common sense would dictate encouraging
capable farmers to increase
hectarage under wheat and save Zimbabwe from
imports.
Common sense would also caution against disrupting
farm operations
ahead of preparations for the 2009/2010 agricultural
season.
Fresh farm invasions have continued over the past two
months despite
the signing of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) on
September 15 last
year calling for the restoration of order in the
agriculture sector.
The Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) contends
that at least 170 of its
members face prosecution for remaining on the land
with Mashonaland Central,
Manicaland and Masvingo the most affected
areas.
Two weeks ago the Sadc Tribunal dismissed an application
by the
government to postpone a contempt application against it by Zimbabwe
commercial farmers.
The Tribunal, ruled that Zimbabwe's
land seizures are in breach of the
Sadc Treaty's human rights
provisions.
Zimbabwe, according to the Tribunal, not only
breached the November
order, but was in contempt. It singled out public
statements by President
Robert Mugabe that Zimbabwe would continue to
prosecute farmers protected by
the Tribunal's order.
Consequently, the Tribunal referred Zimbabwe's contempt to the Sadc
Summit
for measures to be taken against it under the Treaty. The measures
include
sanctions or expulsion from Sadc. These are the real drivers of the
"offer
letters". If the government was sincere it would cease the racist
persecution of productive and law-abiding citizens which creates an
impression of lawlessness. Is that the reputation government wants?
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Zimbabweans, not the West, Want Gono to go
Saturday, 20 June 2009
16:22
EVERYONE is now familiar with the Gideon Gono and Johannes Tomana
controversy.
The well-worn out Zanu PF rhetoric is that it is
the West that wants
Gono and Tomana out. The latest of the converts is
Reverend Trevor Manhanga,
whose support for the embattled governor of the
Reserve Bank says volumes
about his political leanings.
During
his maiden speech at Glamis Stadium Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai was
confronted with chants of "Gono! Gono!" I am not good at
shouting but I was
in total agreement with the audience. I am not from the
West
either.
Zanu PF is well known for ignoring the voices of over a
million
Zimbabweans while hearing only voices of the West.
Patrick Chinamasa, the Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs somehow
rightly
pointed out that those who were against Gono were against Zanu PF.
Indeed,
Gono is an asset to Zanu PF and not the nation.
I am no
economist but I do not believe that zero economics (adding and
subtracting
zeros) needs much imagination or a genius. Neither does giving
chiefs cars
for their personal use when rural hospitals have neither
ambulances nor
medicines.
The loudest voices clamouring for Gono's head are
from Zimbabweans and
not the West.
In the courts there is
even a clause that attempts to stop selective
application of the law. It is
the law of precedence.
When I was in court with leaders from
the ZCTU after the September 13,
2006 arrest we appealed to the Supreme
Court challenging the
constitutionality of the Act under which we were
charged.
Our appeal was rejected by the magistrate. Alec
Muchadehama, our
lawyer did not quote any legal statutes but brought another
judgement in
which refusal to grant an appeal to the Supreme Court was taken
as the
reason for appeal to the same court.
In other words, an
unchallenged judgement subsequently carries the
weight of law. This
principle damns people like Tomana whose selective
application of justice
defeats the very spirit of law.
But the greatest controversy
lies not in the performance of these
characters. It is in their
re-appointment.
I agree with those in Zanu PF who insist that in
re-appointing them
President Robert Mugabe broke no law and indeed the MDC
formations are not
appealing to any law courts. The re-appointments broke
the letter and spirit
of the September 15, 2008 Global Political Agreement
(GPA) - period.
The GPA document specifically state that the
agreement comes into
effect with the signing of the document. Except for the
accreditation of
diplomats and granting of pardons, the President is not
mandated to make
arbitrary decisions and/appointments. The document
specifically states that
the appointment of the Attorney-General and the
Reserve Bank Governor should
be done in consultation with the Prime
Minister.
The re-appointments of Gono and Tomana were done in
blatant violation
of the GPA. To suggest that the GPA is silent on these
issues is wishful
thinking. Mugabe re-appointed the two to full terms. No
transitional
arrangement has the right to make long-term
decisions.
I have outlined what the majority of Zimbabweans
think. The opposite
of this is what the Zanu PF leadership thinks. So it is
absurd to say that
more people have come out in support of Gono when quoting
the likes of
Joseph Chinotimba and those he purports to
represent.
Gono and Tomana's tenures are inconsistent with the
GPA.
Rev Nqobizitha Khumalo
Epworth
Harare.
--------
Getting Disillusioned by the Inclusive
Govt
Saturday, 20 June 2009 16:20
AFTER the first 100 days
of the new government of national unity in
office, the high expectations
that people had at first are starting to fade.
The majority of
people are still confused as to whether the new
government is different from
the previous administration which was riddled
with corruption, incompetence,
mismanagement, poor service delivery,
arrogance, brutality, among other
inadequacies of modern democracy.
Most people are still convinced
that with well over 100 days in office
for the new administration, little
has changed for the better. In fact, many
believe that the two MDC
formations which now form part of the new
administration run the risk of
also being corrupted.
Electricity, water and other basic human
necessities essential for
survival continue to be major challenges to the
ordinary people and there is
no sign that the new government is working
towards rectifying the problems.
What makes it worse is that
the new government's Zesa and Zinwa have
even the audacity to send us
exorbitant bills when we rarely have water and
electricity for the better
part of the month.
If you dare to ask them how they came up
with those high water and
electricity bills when we spend the better part of
the month without them,
they threaten you with cutting off water and
electricity supply.
How do they explain water and electricity bills of
more than US$300 a
month when most people earn far below
that?
The Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority and the
Zimbabwe National
Water Authority must not justify their poor service on
lack of financial
resources when they are giving themselves hefty salaries
while the whole
nation is bleeding.
The bills they charge
us are not commensurate with the services they
provide. It is incumbent upon
the new government to make sure people get
real value for their money and
try to improve service delivery and therefore
distinguish itself from the
previous government that was only preoccupied
with its own
interests.
No matter how hard times are, the new government
will be judged by its
results and the way it responds to people's concerns.
The new government
cannot afford to ignore people's demands because it is
there to serve the
people and it is the people who made it.
Washington Mazorodze
Mount Pleasant
Harare.
------------
ZBC: Allegations 'unfounded and
mischievous'
Saturday, 20 June 2009 16:17
A letter in The
Standard issue of June 7-13 refers:
As has become the norm with The
Standard, the letter was published
without ZBH being given the opportunity
to respond as normal journalistic
requirements demand.
ZBC as
an organisation observes the principles of corporate governance
which demand
transparency accountability, integrity and probity. This is a
public
institution which publishes its financial statements in accordance
with the
required standards and governing statutes.
Allegations of
looting and corruption are supposed to be detected by
our auditors who audit
these financial statements. It is gratifying to note
that "Professional" has
unearthed these corrupt activities which our
auditors failed to
detect.
As an experienced and skilled worker as he alleges, it
is common
knowledge that such evidence as he purports to have could easily
be availed
to the Anti-Corruption Commission and the law enforcement agents
for further
probing.
ZBC as a national broadcaster serves
the national interest and
provides balanced reporting which can be proved by
the Media Monitoring
statistics elsewhere in the pages of The
Standard.
The corporation regards its workers as its greatest
assets who are
treated fairly in accordance with labour laws and our code of
conduct.
"Professional's" allegations of victimisation of some employees on
political
grounds is (sic) unfounded and mischievous. Contrary to what
"Professional"
is alleging, staff moral (sic) is at acceptable levels,
considering the
challenges facing every company under this
economy.
It is surprising to note that "Professional" alleges
that ZBC is
failing to broadcast due to obsolete and archaic equipment when
in fact we
have managed to broadcast all our programmes including national
events with
expertise.
The operations of ZBC are guided by
its policies, procedures and
systems promulgated by the board of directors
in concurrence with the
shareholder. Any deviations to these set procedures
are subject to audit
queries from our auditors.
Hiring of
vehicles and any other equipment is normal practise in any
business activity
especially when the institution is subjected to shortages
of such equipment,
surely this cannot be regarded as looting or corruption
when even the CEO
does not have an official vehicle and depends on pool
vehicles.
Why does "Professional" not even sympathise with
some of our general
managers who have resorted to use their own personal
vehicles to service the
organisation without compensation. These personal
vehicles are now being
regarded as hired vehicles giving a false impression
to the public. Some of
"Professional's" allegations concerning fuel display
his ignorance with the
provisions of the conditions of service of management
as agreed with the
board of directors.
The Ministry of
Media, Information and Publicity is the parent
ministry of ZBC which
represent (sic) the interest of the shareholder.
Sharing of assets and
resources is common practise (sic) that should be done
procedurally.
Allegations of fuel drawn by ministry official's relatives and
girlfriends
are malicious.
Sivukile Simango
PR Manager (ZBH Holdings)
Harare.
----------------
Please Help
Saturday,
20 June 2009 16:15
PLEASE help the students at St Mary's college in
Dzivarasekwa, Harare.
A great number of last year's "A" Level
candidates are yet to collect
their results because the college is
withholding them.
Students are being asked to pay US$150 for bricks
and purported
balances on fees. One student I met said he had been told to
pay US$300
before he could collect his results.
Please help
these children otherwise the college will cash on the
desperation of these
students who want their results. I call upon the
authorities to investigate
this issue and intervene as soon as possible.
Concerned
Dzivarasekwa
Harare.
---------------
They Have it
in Black & White
Saturday, 20 June 2009 16:09
THE one
good thing coming out of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's
overseas visit
is that Zanu PF is getting it from the horse's mouth what
must be done for
sanctions to be lifted.
Everywhere Tsvangirai went he was told in
no uncertain terms by his
Western hosts that until they see genuine
political reforms that guarantee
press and other freedoms, the sanctions are
staying.
I also find it puzzling what part of the demand for full
compliance
with the letter and spirit of the GPA Zanu PF does not
understand.
Persecution of MDC supporters and civic activists has continued
while farm
invasions have assumed an even more brazen
approach.
Surely, these are not the actions of people serious
about
re-engagement with the rest of the world.
Patriot
Harare.
------------
SMS The
Standard
Saturday, 20 June 2009 16:25
False
prophets
PEOPLE should not be fooled by the so-called delays by
Zanu PF MPs,
who claim they want allowances for the constitution-making
mobilization
process. I have discovered that the party is busy trying to
mobilize or
influence the grassroots because their vehicles and officials
are traversing
the length and breadth of the country. Their mission is
unclear. I suggest
civic groups move around ensuring that people are not
intimidated into
writing a Zanu PF constitution because the party is aware
of the type of
constitution that is likely to come out if the process is not
rigged. I am
sure they want to avoid that outcome by whatever means. Just
look at what
they are doing to the Global Political Agreement. They mean no
good to
Zimbabwe. -Oracle.
******
WITHIN the
government of national unity one party is fighting to save
the people and
the country from collapse but the other is fighting to save
itself and serve
its kleptomaniacs. The smallest party is fighting to save
itself from
extinction and serve its leadership. - Cleka.
Extreme
load-shedding
ZESA should note that with all the candles and firewood
we are buying
in New Canaan, Highfield everyday due to extreme load-shedding
in our area
we will not be able to pay their bills at the end of the month.
We go for
two weeks without electricity and when power returns, we barely
have it for
four hours. - Disgruntled, Highfield, Harare.
******
LAST week on Monday we hurriedly borrowed from friends and
neighbours
so we could pay what Zesa claimed was due to them before June 20.
We hoped
this would save us from the Zimbabwe Electricity is Sometimes
Available's
power disruptions. How have we been rewarded? We have returned
home every
evening to be greeted by darkness. Do we need this unaccountable
creature
and its over-paid baggage? - R Fedup, Harare.
******
ZESA is a walking disaster. Is cutting power their only work?
The long
periods we are without electricity are getting serious and there
are not
specified times. It is so haphazard. Their function should be to
supply and
not to disrupt power supplies. - Irate consumer.
Devolved powers
WE want elected provincial premiers who will implement
policies
formulated by provincial legislatures. - Mamjiji, Kutama Mission,
Zvimba.
******
WE don't want a president with executive
powers. Once bitten twice
shy. The new constitution-making committee needs
to know about that and bear
this in mind. - Shikota, Hwange.
******
LET'S advocate for devolution of power and proportional
representation
in the new people-driven constitution. - Tozivepi, Uzumba
Maramba Pfungwe.
******
THE issue about the new
constitution is not about the process. In the
end what matters is the
content. So let's all participate in the process so
that our views can be
included. - Solomon Mguni, Bulawayo.
******
LET'S have seven
provinces - Manicaland, Masvingo, the Midlands,
Matabeleland North,
Matabeleland South, Mashonaland East, and Mashonaland
West. Bulawayo should
be the legislative capital hosting the national
parliament while Harare
remains the national capital. - Anon.
Blocking investment
THE
Governor of the Reserve Bank needs to go if he has the interests
of
Zimbabweans at heart. We can't have one person blocking all the foreign
investment that should be coming to this country and intended to develop
Zimbabwe while creating much-needed employment. Zanu PF is not serious about
the government of national unity. They should implement everything in the
Global Political Agreement. - I M.
******
DONOR nations
should tell Harare to reform before aid can trickle in.
Once Zanu PF fails
to remove its leader it is going to be the same old story
of refusing to go.
- Zvamatongwa naMwari.
******
I think there is too much
worry about the Governor of the Reserve Bank
without focus on the real
issues like unemployment. No wonder why crime is
on the increase. -
Mash.
No pity
WHY pity kombi drivers when they pack you
like sardines in their rusty
vehicles and make it their solemn duty to avoid
giving you change? - Chinja.
Dubious pastors
THERE is a
well-organised gang of pastors. They are definitely not
what they are
supposed to be. Three and half months ago they lured a man who
was looking
to set up a business centre. He bought all the machines he
needed to operate
a business. But up to now he and the workers he had
employed have not been
able to operate.-Distraught, Harare.
******
I AM surprised
that the government is taking no action on the country's
busiest highway -
the "butcher road" - the Harare - Beitbridge road. We have
lost many lives,
property and it's getting worse. Please do something. -
Mzananga,
Harare.
******
FOOD for thought for the state media: What
is needed is the removal of
the conditions that caused targeted sanctions
and restrictive measures in
the first place. -Cleka weDowasuro.
THE government of national unity has done a good job but there really
is
little left for them to do. Like any coalition the problem is that it is
run
by two different drivers. Our only hope of taking convincing steps
forward
is in the 2011 elections. Right now Zimbabwe is like a frail body
bearing
two heads, each facing in a different direction, while perched on a
weak
neck. - Ibim.
Thanks
MANY thanks to the Prime
Minister's office for the weekly newsletter.
It keeps us well informed. -
Grateful.
No thanks
THE Caps United defence needs to
improve urgently otherwise the team
will be out of the race. - Kepekepe
Bhora, Harare.
MAY The Standard editorial team get serious and not
take readers for
granted. Match reports have silly errors. They also
reported a false 1 - 0
Highlanders/Highway score line when the teams drew
2-2. We are your readers.
Do not take us for granted. - M
Nyatanga.